The Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) is a legal rights organisation allegedly affiliated with the

Hindu nationalist Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of political thought, based on the native social and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" is a simplistic translation of . It is better descri ...

organization

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...

. It is led by Vinay Joshi, a former RSS worker. According to Joshi, the group consists of 150 volunteers, and he takes all decisions about filing legal petitions on behalf of the group. Joshi denies the group's connection to the RSS. The group is particularly active in Northeastern India.

Legal complaints

The LRO has filed several legal complaints against media organisations. In April 2017, the LRO threatened the ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...

'' TV channel with a police complaint for inviting

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

activist Nandini Sundar to a debate about India's

Maoist insurgency People's war or protracted people's war is a Maoist military strategy. First developed by the Chinese communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the basic concept behind people's war is to maintain the support of the population a ...

; Sundar had previously published a book on the subject. The LRO described Sundar as a Naxal worker. In October 2017, the LRO objected to the 9th Anuradha Gandhi Memorial Lecture, commemorating the wife of jailed Naxal leader Kobad Ghandy, describing it as an anti-national event. The event concluded peacefully, amid raised concerns among the organisers and the police. Following the introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 in the Indian parliament, the LRO filed a complaint with the

Home Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...

against four media organisations opposing the bill. The LRO alleged that the organisations were participating in illegal financial transactions and other criminal activities, and stated that the Home Ministry had initiated an inquiry following its complaint. The Home Ministry stated that it had not begun an inquiry, but had passed the complaint to the government of

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

. The LRO has also filed several legal complaints against the Catholic Church. In August 2017, the LRO sent a letter to

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

through the Holy See ambassador in Delhi, demanding an immediate apology from the Pope for discrimination and persecution, which they alleged the Church was committing against local tribes in north-east India. In November 2017, before the Gujarat Assembly elections, the LRO lodged a complaint against the Archbishop of Gandhinagar,

Thomas Ignatius MacWan Archbishop Thomas Ignatius Macwan is the current archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gandhinagar. Early life Bishop Thomas was born on 14 October 1952 in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. Priesthood Thomas was ordained a Catholic priest on ...

. When the Election Commission of India received the LRO complaint, it served a notice to the archbishop asking for clarification. MacWad had written to his constituents, asking them to pray for politicians who would "remain faithful to the Indian Constitution and save the country from nationalist forces". In 2017, Joshi complained to the

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is an Indian statutory body established by an Act of Parliament, the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005. The Commission works under the aegis of Ministry of ...

, alleging that two missionary schools were forcing their children to participate in protests against the funeral of the leader of an indigenous faith. A Christian group in

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

accused the LRO of harassing Christians by filing complaints and court suits against several Christian leaders.

References

{{reflist Political organisations based in India